A Very Special Evening
by scarecrowandmrskinggirl
Summary: This story begins where "Over The Limit" ends. It is the dinner that Lee invites Amanda to that we never get to see.


Title: A Very Special Evening  
  
Synopsis: This story picks up where the episode, "Over The Limit" ends. It is the dinner that Lee invited Amanda to, that we never get to see.   
  
Rating: PG  
  
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and the character's of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, belong to Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions. The plot of this story, however, is mine all mine!! There are a few sentences used from the episode "Over The Limit" in this story. No infringement is intended. The song "Amanda," is written by Tom Scholz and is sung by the group Boston.  
  
  
Amanda looked at herself in the mirror for what seemed to be the millionth time. Her reflection stared back at her, looking the same as before. She was wearing a nice silk button up blouse that was tucked into a nice pair of black wool pants. She had her hair down, no barrettes, no clips; it was just gently falling on her shoulders. She was wearing a little more make up than usual and she had on the heart necklace that she always wore, along with a pair of earrings.   
  
"Why am I so nervous?" Amanda asked herself. As she walked back into her bedroom and slipped into her white high-heeled shoes, she contemplated her reasons for being nervous about her dinner with Lee. They had had dinner together before. This time though, he had specified that he had wanted to be alone with her. His words played in her mind.  
  
"I thought maybe we'd have dinner tonight. You know, just the two of us, alone." That had surprised her tremendously, because he was supposed to go to an embassy party with his girlfriend, Leslie. When Amanda had pointed that out to him, he had said, "Uh, yeah, uh, she won't be lonely believe me, she's working anyway."   
  
Amanda had no clue as to why he had changed his mind. As happy as that made her, she was still nervous. She knew the main reason she was nervous was because of her feelings for Lee. Over the past two years of working with him, she had slowly been falling in love with him. Now she wasn't sure if she was still falling, or if she was completely in love with him. All she knew was that whenever she was near Lee, she had many different emotions at once: excitement, nervousness, happiness and, in part sadness, because she was sure that her feelings for Lee were unrequited. She wasn't the type Lee usually dated.   
  
Amanda realized she had been standing in the same place in her bedroom for a few moments lost in thought. She turned around and looked at the clock. It read 6:30pm. Her heart skipped a beat; she was supposed to be at Lee's at 7:00pm. She took one last glance in the mirror, grabbed her purse and headed downstairs to the kitchen.  
  
****************  
  
"Mom, you look great," Phillip said.  
  
"Thank you, sweetheart," Amanda said.  
  
"Got a hot date?" Jamie asked.  
  
"Jamie!" Amanda exclaimed, "I'm just going to a friend's house for dinner."  
  
"Just a friend, huh?" Dotty mused. "So why do you look perfect then?" Dotty was secretly hoping it was more than just a friend Amanda was having dinner with. She hadn't been with anyone steadily since Dean.  
  
Amanda blushed at her mother's comment, which she decided to ignore. "I have to go, but you fellas be good, and listen to what your grandmother says, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Phillip and Jamie said in unison. She gave each of them a kiss on the forehead.  
  
"Goodbye," she said to her mother and boys.  
  
"Have fun, dear," Dotty said in a knowing tone of voice.   
  
Amanda looked at her mother, rolled her eyes and walked out the door.  
  
*******************************  
  
Lee was cleaning up his apartment. He smiled as he did so. When he and Amanda had first started working together, there had been  
times when she had been at his apartment and he didn't care about the  
messiness. Much to his dismay, Amanda had cleaned his apartment a few times in those early days. Now here he was cleaning his apartment for her. How far they had come since those early times.   
  
Lee had actually been somewhat annoyed by Amanda in the beginning. He was a loner; he didn't work with a partner. Gradually he came to realize just how valuable she was to the Agency, and to him. How valuable she had become to him scared him. It was more than just her great instincts that always helped him to solve cases; it was also more than her friendship that he couldn't live without. He valued her on a much deeper level than that. He realized his feelings had changed for her somewhere along the way. He didn't know how, or why, and he hadn't even realized it until he had been playing the undercover role of a burnt out agent. Things had gotten out of control, and he had hit Amanda. Feelings of guilt had overtaken him, and he knew he would have done anything in the world to make things right with her again. That was when he knew his feelings for her had changed. He actually knew he had had feelings for her long before that, he just hadn't let himself acknowledge them until then. Even now, he refused to acknowledge just how deep his feelings really were for her. Deep inside he knew exactly what he felt for her, but on the surface, denied it with all of his being. Everyone he had ever truly cared for had left him or hurt him in some way. He couldn't allow himself to go through that again, especially with Amanda. He didn't want to lose her, and if he didn't allow himself to acknowledge just how deeply he cared about her, then he wouldn't have to deal with losing her someday. He could at least always have her in his life as a good friend he reasoned. So he just kept his feelings locked up inside, and pretended he didn't have them. The pretending part was becoming harder and harder each day. He began to wonder why he had even invited her to dinner tonight if he was trying so hard to deny his feelings for her. He knew deep down inside it was because he would do anything just to be near her.  
  
A soft knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. Lee walked over to the door and answered it. There, standing at his door, was Amanda, looking more beautiful than ever. His breath caught in his throat, and all he could do was stare at her for a moment.   
  
"Um, can I come in?" Amanda asked nervously, feeling a bit self-conscious with the way Lee was staring at her.  
  
"Um, oh, yeah, come in. Sorry." Lee opened the door all the way for her to walk in. As she walked by him, he caught a whiff of her perfume. It was intoxicating to him.   
  
As Amanda walked in, she smelled the steak, and could hear music playing in the background. She saw the table was set, and also had all the condiments they would need for dinner. She looked around and noticed how clean his apartment was. She smiled. She didn't think she had ever seen his apartment so clean.  
  
"Dinner will be ready soon, have a seat," Lee said as he motioned to the couch. "Would you like a glass of wine?"  
  
"Sure," Amanda said.  
  
Lee walked into the kitchen, took out two wine glasses and poured them each a glass of wine.  
  
As he was walking back to the couch, Amanda couldn't help but stare. He looked quite handsome. He was wearing the black jeans he had been wearing earlier, but was now wearing a white sweater, instead of his previous flannel shirt.  
  
Lee sat down on the couch next to Amanda and handed her the glass of wine.  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
"Your welcome," he said.  
  
"I'm happy you could come tonight," Lee said. "We really don't do enough of this. We need to do it more often."  
  
"Yes, we do," Amanda agreed smiling back.  
  
They made small talk while waiting for dinner. So far Lee had stuck to what he had said about no shoptalk for a change. Amanda was having a nice time talking with him about other things besides work. A timer went off in the kitchen.  
  
"Dinner time," Lee said. "Have a seat at the table, I'll be right out with dinner."  
  
Amanda sat down at the table and waited. A few moments later, Lee walked out with two plates, each had a steak and baked potato on it. He set Amanda's plate down in front of her, walked around to the other side of the table and put his plate down. He walked back into the kitchen and came back out with a bottle of red wine.  
  
"More wine?" He asked Amanda.  
  
"Sure," Amanda said.  
  
He poured more wine into Amanda's glass, then poured more wine into his own glass.  
  
"Dig in," Lee said.  
  
Amanda took a bite of her steak. "Perfect," she said.  
  
"Thank you," Lee said smiling. "So what did you do all afternoon?"  
  
'Think about and get ready for tonight,' she thought. "Oh, you know, the normal stuff. I helped Phillip and Jamie with their homework, cleaned up the house a bit, relaxed a bit, nothing exciting."  
  
Lee smiled. Everything she did was exciting to him. He didn't know how she did it all. How did she manage to have a job with IFF, raise a family as a single mother, and do housework as well? She was amazing.  
  
He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back.  
  
"So, you never told me why you decided not to go to the embassy party tonight with Leslie. You only told me that she was working so she had her own invitation," Amanda said.  
  
Lee almost choked on the piece of steak that was in his mouth. He swallowed the steak, coughed a bit and took a sip of wine. He couldn't tell her why he really wasn't going to the embassy party with Leslie. He couldn't tell her that he called Leslie Amanda twice. He had called her Amanda after they had eaten dinner. Leslie had just thought that he was talking about Amanda. He had lucked out on that one. The second time he wasn't so lucky. He and Leslie had been kissing, with the intention of things going farther, when he had called out Amanda's name instead of Leslie's. Leslie had left hurt and angry. He couldn't tell Amanda that though. He realized that he had been silent for a few moments, and that Amanda was staring at him. He smiled, feeling the flush creep into his cheeks. "Um, well, she figured since she would, ah, be working, that I wouldn't have any fun."  
  
Amanda looked at him strangely. Lee was used to that kind of stuff. He could have found something to do. She always did when she had gone to parties with him while he was working. She decided not to push it. It was really none of her business.  
  
Throughout the rest of dinner, they made small talk. They managed to stay off the topic of work. When they were finished, Amanda helped Lee with the dishes. When they were finished with the dishes, they went back and sat down on the couch.  
  
"Dinner was really delicious, thank you," Amanda said.  
  
"You're welcome," Lee said smiling, "It was my pleasure.  
  
"I'm having a nice time," Amanda said.  
  
"Me too," Lee said. She was sitting so close to him, it was affecting him more than he wanted to admit, even to himself.  
  
"Would you like some more wine?" Lee asked.  
  
"I'd better not, since I'll be driving home in a while," Amanda said. She wished she didn't have to leave soon. She was enjoying just being near Lee. He was sitting very close to her, and it made her heart beat faster.  
  
Lee had left the stereo on, and they sat in silence for a moment listening to the music. A song came on that Lee and Amanda both knew. They looked at each other, and Amanda giggled a bit. "Hey, this is my song," Amanda said.  
  
"It sure is," Lee said. The song that was playing on the radio was called "Amanda." Lee decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for him to have an excuse to hold Amanda in his arms.  
  
"Well, since this is your song, would you like to dance?"  
  
Amanda was surprised that he had asked, but was happy. "Yes, I would like that."  
  
Lee got up, took her hand in his and pulled her up. He pulled her away from the couch, and took her in his arms. They started moving to the rhythm of the music. Lee listened to the words of the song.  
  
Babe, tomorrow's so far away  
There's something I just have to say  
I don't think I can hide what I'm feelin' inside  
Another day, knowin' I love you  
And I, I'm getting too close again  
I don't want to see it end  
If I tell you tonight will you turn out the light  
And walk away knowing I love you?  
  
I'm gonna take you by surprise and make you realize,  
Amanda  
I'm gonna tell you right away, I can't wait another day,  
Amanda  
I'm gonna say it like a man and make you understand  
Amanda  
I love you  
  
That was exactly how he felt. He laughed to himself about the irony of it. The song was called "Amanda," and it was how he felt about Amanda. Amanda had put her head on Lee's chest. It felt really good to him to have her this close. He pulled her closer to him. He was lost in the moment.  
  
Amanda's heart was beating quite fast. She had felt Lee pull her closer to him. They were moving very slowly to the music.  
  
Lee could feel Amanda's breath on his neck. It was sending chills up and down his spine. To try and control his emotions he concentrated on the next part of the song.  
  
And I, I feel like today's the day  
I'm lookin' for the words to say  
Do you wanna be free, are you ready for me   
to feel this way  
I don't wanna lose you  
So, it may be too soon, I know  
The feeling takes so long to grow   
If I tell you today will you turn me away  
And let me go?  
I don't wanna lose you  
  
I'm gonna take you by surprise and make you realize,  
Amanda  
I'm gonna tell you right away, I can't wait another day,  
Amanda  
I'm gonna say it like a man and make you understand   
Amanda  
  
Lee felt Amanda move her head off of his chest. He looked down at her, to find her looking up at him. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed to be an eternity. She was so beautiful to him. Before he even realized what he was doing, he started to lean down toward her. They had stopped moving completely. The words of the song blared in Lee's ears as he leaned down toward Amanda in what seemed like slow motion.  
  
You and I  
I know that we can't wait  
And I swear, I swear it's not a lie girl  
Tomorrow may be too late  
You, you and I girl  
We can share a life together  
It's now or never  
And tomorrow may be too late  
  
And feelin' the way I do  
I don't wanna wait my whole life through  
To say, I'm in love with you  
  
The song ended, but neither realized it. Amanda could feel Lee's breath on her cheek, he was so close. All Lee could think of was how beautiful Amanda was, and how much he wanted to kiss her right at that moment. Lee and Amanda's lips almost touched when the shrill sound of Lee's telephone ringing made them both jump. Lee quickly pulled away from Amanda and tried to gain his composure. He was still affected by what had almost happened. He spun around, walked to the phone and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hi Francine," Lee said in an annoyed tone of voice.  
  
Amanda was still planted in place where Lee had left her. Had he really just been about ready to kiss her? She couldn't believe it; their lips had almost touched. She knew she wasn't imagining things. Subconsciously, she brought her right hand up to her lip and touched it. She pulled herself out of her thoughts as she heard Lee say, "All right, goodbye." He hung up the phone and walked back over to her.   
  
"That was Francine, she wanted to tell me something about a case we're going to be working on tomorrow."  
  
"Oh," was all that Amanda could say. 'It had to be Francine,' she thought, 'she'd be happy to know what she had almost interrupted.'   
  
"Well, I better get going," Amanda said, noting the time on the clock was 10:30pm. She didn't really want to leave, but she knew nothing else was going to happen anyway. The mood had been ruined. Plus, they both had to get up early for work the next morning.  
  
"Yeah," Lee said, "It's getting late. Thanks for coming over tonight, I had a nice time." Neither one of them acknowledged out loud what had just almost happened, although they were both thinking about it.  
  
"Me too," Amanda said as she grabbed her purse and started walking toward the door.  
  
"We'll have to do this again soon," Lee said.  
  
"Yeah," Amanda said.   
  
"Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Lee said trying to be casual, although that was far from what he felt.  
  
"All right. Goodnight," Amanda said. Lee walked to the door ahead of Amanda and opened the door for her.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you to your car, since it's kind of late?"  
  
"Yes," Amanda said without thinking.  
  
Lee walked back into the apartment to grab his keys. He walked back out, closed the door and they walked silently to the elevator. They got to the elevator, Lee pushed the button, and the elevator door opened a few moments later. The ride down on the elevator was silent as well. They walked past the doorman, and both smiled at him. They got to the door that led outside, and Lee opened it for Amanda. They walked out to her car in silence, both thinking about what had almost happened.  
  
They stopped at Amanda's car. "Thanks for walking me down," Amanda said.  
  
"Sure. You can't be too careful these days," Lee said, trying to play it off that the only reason he had walked her down to her car, was for her safety.  
  
Amanda reached in her purse and grabbed her keys.  
  
"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Okay," Lee said.  
  
Amanda got into the station wagon, and smiled at Lee. He smiled back. She started the car, waved at him and drove away.  
  
Lee watched her drive away, smiling to himself.  
  
****************************************  
Later on, Lee and Amanda were both in their own homes, lying in their own beds, thinking about one another. They were both thinking about how things had changed since they had first met. They were both wondering what the almost kiss had meant. Was this the beginning of something more than friendship between them? Was this the beginning of something special? Neither one of them knew, but they were both eager to see what their future held for them.  
  
  
The End 


End file.
